Morning AD Team beautiful day here & looking like a beautiful week ending up around 30.
GL aren’t bought cakes/sweets ridiculous sizes! I’m looking forward to cleaning out my pantry but will wait till work finishes. Gives me more hours in the day.
Fit hope you DID end up enjoying the new Bond movie in the end.
GG I hope you get that darn computer fixed up. I really REALLY miss your daily input. You’ve always been so encouraging & uplifting, just like CG. XX
CG I saw a nice number on the scales this morning so gonna have 2 very good TDEE days before my 2nd fast & see where we end up. Haven’t been recording apart from FD”s but will do it this week. It is liberating not having to do it! But my internal counter of calories is not very good!!

Some positive shifts I’ve been noticing lately: I find sleeping a lot easier ie finding a good position is much easier without all those extra uncomfortable kilos.
: I’m now able to walk up the nasty hill near our place without getting totally out of breath & having to stop at the top. I can even talk!!
: Some of my summer clothes that I’d like to keep need taking in.
: I need new bathers but may put up with them for this season till I reach goal weight, quite wrinkly in the bust area. What a surprise! Apart from that they actually look much nicer than they ever used to.
: My hip is not giving me near as much trouble as it used to almost none in fact. It’s heaving a sigh of relief I think!
OK that’ll do for now. Anyone else like to add some positives from their angle to keep us all motivated & positive?! 🙂

Well off to MFP to record my foods so far & work out my day. Have a meeting this Saturday with my son-in-law only. It’s a baby step only & we’ll see what comes of it – my daughter will not be there.
Have a good day everyone. I’ll be doing more sewing – it’s been a very interrupted start & not nearly as much done as I’d like. Housework is just being ignored for now.
Have 2 appointments today so it’s not gonna be much better. suejen XXXX

Another Hi from me, twice in one day. Suejen and CG you have inspired me to also “brag” a little. I am delighted that my size 14 trousers are now gaping! Looking forward to getting back into more of my size 12 clothes that I’ve kept. I mostly bought the size 14s from op shops as I was determined that I would not remain at that size. 5:2 is helping me to realise that wish. My bras are also becoming too big. I kept a few of my better, smaller ones. It will be great to treat myself to new undies in a smaller size. What is the best exercise to get rid of a fat and flabby stomach? Sucking it in is difficult to maintain and wearing girdles just pushes the fat into other places, groan! I just love writing to you all, knowing I will get responses. My fd is three quarters of the way through. Got a hard boiled egg to take to my evening class. With a cup of peppermint tea I will be able to get through the rest of my day 🙂

What a wonderful positive day on the forum today. Woke up late this morning and only just got to the hydro pool in time for my class, followed by coffee with the class then doing a spot of shopping to change some shorts for hubbie and what did I see a shop with the tool to do zuchini spaghetti out the front on sale. My lucky day. Anyway then met OH in town for lunch and then a few more town chores and fell on the bed when I got home and straight to sleep. Just woke up. Phone ringing..back as soon as I can

The positives after only just losing 7 kg,s:
Have had to take in most of my tops and can fit into some I could not before.??
Have gone from size 22 and 24 bottoms to size 18 and 20??
Feel much better in my swimmers for the pool and have gone down to size 18 to 20 ????
Love the fact that when talking on Skype to friends daughter overseas she commented..boy you look great..you must have lost 20 Kgs since I last saw you. You look so much younger in the face???

I feel good when I look at myself in the mirror and can just imagine what I will look like when I have lost a few more Kgs. ???

Knowing that the more Kgs I lose the better I am going to feel health wise and that what I am doing is making my children and OH proud of me.?‍❤️‍??‍❤️‍??‍❤️‍??‍?‍??‍?‍?

My doctor is verrrryyyy impressed and blood results are much better..????

Participating in this wonderful forum and getting to know all of you wonderful people..it has been the best experience I have ever known with combating the ever present overweight problem. Now have hope and DETERMINATION that when it comes off this time it is for life …all because of getting to know you wonderful group of people. My saviours!!! The best feeling ever?????❤️????

Ah #$*& photobucket here goes again. sj

Suejen. We will have to spend time at the WTF reunion working out the best way to upload photos into the forum. With a list of instructions for all. Surely one of us has a talented son, daughter, grandchild that will put us all in a position to do this. Will all have to get the brains trust happening. Without a very special few if you we would be lost. Thanks for all of the effort you special few. ????

Now to answer some great comments before. Thanks for the info re the zuchini spaghetti maker. Will look out for a julienne peeler .Just tried to make some with my new tool and can do some but hands not really strong enough. OH can do though so all good. Will sit him down with a beer and some nibbles and the zuchini and tool and see how many we can get done to freeze. Now just to pick the right moment! Maybe tomorrow afternoon..??? ssw a great recipe for zuchini and cheese chips for nibbles..maybe give that a go at the same time.

Suejen. I am sooooopleased that you are meeting with SIL, hopefully some positives will come from it but if not at least you are still keeping open every possibility and gotta love you for that??
Re the sewing. Just remember to enjoy every minute of it, that is the whole reason we sew now..I too have not made one step in the direction of making things for my new little grandcub to be. Can do that when the magic pills stop and can’t do cleaning again.. I can’t wait to make some little denim jeans pants out of some of my old worn stretch jeans that don’t fit anymore..they will be so soft and lovely for a little one..got a pair of size “0” at the op shop for a pattern.

Gyps. Nice to hear from you. What a full and busy life you lead. Good luck for leprechaun’s test results. Looking forward to conversing with the gawdmother.

GG . I join the others in missing your posts. Good luck with the computer doctor.

Noots ..well done and loving your posts.

Fit. You sure are doing great. All of the celebrations of the past few months and still maintaining..and even losing a smidgen. UNBELIEVEABLE????

CG size 14’s loose!! Yeah!! Oh to dream of that but you are a wonderful inspiration and the sky’s the limit. ANYTHINGS POSSIBLE ??

A big hi to anyone I’ve missed..PH

Hi all, lovely sunny day here today so instead of driving the 20K into town to the hydro pool going to test the outdoor local pool and see how cool the water is, will leave it till afternoon to give the sun a chance to make it a bit warmer.

CG I too used to do land exercises but found that any exercise outside the water would play havoc with my back even when guided by the physio’s. Maybe when I lose as much weight as you that won’t be the case anymore. One more incentive to stay on this WOL. ???

I too cannot replicate mums cooking . My favourite was her braise. She could make the cheapest cut of meat so tender and flavoursome with vegies and gravy, served with mashed potato, and of course always followed by pudding of some kind, rice boiled in milk and prunes, banana custard or her special home made ice cream to name a few. ??? We had an abundance of milk and cream because I used to milk a cow that belonged to an old lady (Granny Kirkmaster)every afternoon and we could keep the milk, cream. I then had to walk it through the town down to her house, where it would stay in her large yard overnight and she would milk it in the morning and would walk it back up to the cow paddock for the day across from our house. ???Everyone shared in those days, she was a lovely old lady with a huge percimon tree and I would climb the tree and just sit up there and eat the ripe ones after getting her some. Great memories. Love this day. Have a great day all and remember to be careful on this NFD. To those fasting.. YOU CAN DO THIS.

I remember when…….um…. what was it? Oh, yes, I used to be able to touch my toes and whizz through the housework, before I went to actual work and then party all night and get up and do it again….. sigh….but I still party all night… the Gawdmuther’s coming, so I better get on with the housework TODAY. Am fasting today to party tomorrow. So looking forward to a Sav https://ak.ssl.imgfarm.com/images/motitags/Monsters/48×48/Wowza.gif

Suejen, have finally received cancellation confirmation for my room at the oaks, could you please resend me your bank details so I can transfer my half of the money please. I can’t find the original details..old age and losing things. Now spending time looking for flights ect. Going to go to Tasmania for 10 days to meet the new grandcub and stop off in Sydney on the way back killing two birds with the one stone. ??? Thanks PH

Hello everyone. I was MIA yesterday. It was just one of those days where I seemed to be constantly chasing my tail. Fit re your Mollie and the rabbit. We are plagued by rabbits in Australia. Another of those introduced species that have become feral. Ive given up trying to grow veggies as th B rabbits just eat everything. One thing worse than a dead rabbit is half an eaten rabbit that my Golden Retriever left for me on the back veranda! Now I’m not normally squeamish , but I had to call on my neighbour to come and dispose of the corpse.
For some reason my FD on Monday was hard going. I stuck to it but was glad when bedtime came around. I’m sure tomorrow will go easier. CG as another cheese lover I’ve just bought some blue cheese which I adore. Yum will have to polish it off before tomorrow though.
I’m happy to report that I manged a 35 minute walk this morning and then a few hours shopping with no ill effects. It makes such a difference it ones quality of life if you can get out for a walk.
Suejen have you finished ” The lake house yet”? I’m about half way through – audiobook version and am really enjoying it. The women who reads Kate Mortons books is very talented. I think she may be an Aussie but can do all accents. Shen makes it so enjoyable it almost like watching a play.
Enjoy the day all.

Drat! emoticon didn’t work. By the way. SJ, UP, and others, to work photo bucket:

first step is to up load your picture or video to the photo bucket site.

Then click on the photo you want to put on here – it will make it larger (on another screen) on the right you will see a set of (4) boxes with various things written in each, do NOT click on any of them and ignore what is written in them.

lOOK to the LEFT of them and you will see codes beside each. From the top is: ’email & IM’ – Direct – HTML – IMG

Identify ‘HTML’ AND CLICK ON IT – if you watch the box beside it at the same time you will see it flashes (yellow) but it is easy to miss, the flash is quick. (thus you won’t have any indication that anything has ‘copied’).

So then go to out site and ‘paste’. It will come up with a paragraph size od goobledegook (computer code) which will turn to the photo when you ‘submit’ your post.

Some times it doesn’t copy first time and has to be repeated. Best to have a refreshed screen before you try and keep our site up on a separate screen, (as well as photo bucket) so you can go back and forth easily. You can copy and paste one at a time and it works better if you use a separate post on here each time, tho you can add written stuff (before or after uploading the photo).

Hope that helps. Off on my broom again! It may sound like I’m very industrious, but it’s just bloody one inch at a time when I REALLY do house work. @#!!%$$&***()+!!@!! effin hate it when I get opratingtheatreitis! Every speck leads to a blob and the infidel growwwwwwws. Must exterminate…. must ext…erm…in..ate….

Thanks for the photo instructions gyps. Will give it a crack sometime. We all have extra flaps somewhere it appears. Oh well makes for interesting differences. Just booked my flight home from the WTF reunion. Now only have to get there via Tasmania, and visiting friends in Sydney beforehand. Nearly there! ?✈️?
Mum and I used to bake for the week every Saturday morning, trying to get me interested in cooking. She made a great ginger cake which was always a favourite .
My grandmother used to make the most amazing sponge cakes. Just laden with cream and passion fruit. And pancakes for breakfast sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice squeezed over the top. Yummmmm the memories make my mouth water. ??????

Ok. So what’s going on and where is everybody? PH, are you not staying at the Oaks with us for the WTF? does that mean that Suejen is not coming too? I am so looking forward to this event, Hope we are still on track.

Hi All!
It’s absolutely lashing rain here today, like Noah and the flood!!
I’m thinking of you CG, as I’m surrounded by young cattle in the fields all around me. There were young calves too earlier in the week but they must be in out of the rain today…..so cute! 🙂 It’s good that your instructor is fully aware of your history of back trouble and surgery so you can make the most of the classes without doing any damage. You are one determined lady – there’s no stopping you!!
Please stop writing about food everybody; I’m fasting today 🙁 (only joking!!)
SJ – loving all those memories of food from your youth; my mum made an incredible bread and butter pudding with stale bread (nothing went to waste) and I can still taste it now if I close my eyes. Early on after I got married, we went to Crete on holidays and got a taste for moussaka. When we came home we tried to make it ourselves but it was almost unheard of back in Ireland so we made it with potatoes! Amazing how similar our pasts are!! Hope all going well with the sewing….I’m sure you will get great satisfaction from seeing those dresses take shape xx
PH – love all the positives you are getting from this wol and you are working very hard on getting fit and supple in the water….soon be on land too. It’s so important to be getting the right support and advice when you’re doing exercise and you are doing a great job following the programme laid out for you. I hope everything falls into place for your travel plans, sounds like you are making the most of the trip; good on ya!! 🙂
Gyps – thanks for the laughs, as ever!! Just love the photo of you living life to the full….way to go girl!! I am so envious of your fabulous hair; it’s absolutely gorgeous!!
Doggy – so good to hear from you. Yes, rabbits can be a terrible nuisance. When I was a child, miximatosis (sp?) was introduced to cull the numbers and it was horrible to see dead and dying rabbits everywhere. The same has happened recently in the sand dunes near our place in France. I still find some FDs very hard; it’s a mystery to me. Other days can be very easy and for no particular reason. But you should be very proud because you soldiered on and got there in the end, woohoo!! 🙂 Love Maggie Smith too; I’m heart-broken that Downton Abbey has come to an end. 🙁
Busy Wednesday for me as usual – French and dance classes. Better get some housework done before I go. Hump day will be over for all you ADers now; best of luck for the rest of the week!

Ah,Fit, Tis a blessing you are, indeed. But I am devastated to hear that Downton Abbey is ended! So admire you for taking dance and French classes. I am still struggling to understand my native tongue! Plus, I so envy folk with short, wavy, manageable locks! My hair is a weed that costs too much to control, so best just let it grow and shove it up. Serves as a protection from sunstroke. I’ve had an old fashioned bun since I was 14.(except for a about a decade of confusion in my 40ies when I cut it shoooort and paid a fortune to keep it out of my eyes. It grew out of every flash style within weeks and when I turned to perms it was like Golliwog meets Rapunzel! It amuses me that ‘buns’ have come back into fashion. So wish you were coming to the reunion. RABBITS! (that’s good luck) come hell or high water.

CG, if you are milking cows (not to mention adopting poddy’s) 8 weeks post op then you are a biker at heart! Every corner presents a risk. Onya! I will get your bourbon To the WTF come hell or high water!
Talking to yourself doesn’t count as certifiable if it is online to the Universe! Carry on. We, the stayers, salute you! xx gyps

I Eco gyps Fit, so admire you for taking French and dance classes. ?????You are certainly living life to the fullest. And as always gyps you are doing the same.

Yes as Sujen says we are certainly still staying at the Oaks, I am just pulling the travel arrangements together as OH and I are off to meet our expected grandcub,due in Jan, in Tasmania before the reunion, having 2 weeks in Boat Harbour getting as many cuddles and kisses as I can. ⛱⛱??We also decided we were going have a couple of days visiting an old friend in Sydney before i meet up with you all at the reunion and OH catches the train home. Just making the most out of the expense of the flights. ✈️?✈️?So looking forward to all of this.

I too am devistated Downtown Abby is ending, have we seen all of it in Australia yet? Love Maggie Smith and Judi Dench.

I am not doing a FD today as full schedule, Bridge in Woolgoolga, then to Grafton to meet old work friend for lunch, followed by visit to osteopath and an hour in the hydro pool in Grafton before coming home. Very full day and so will need every bit of energy I can get. Will fast Friday instead this week. Good luck to you all who are fasting. You will smash it I am sure. ???

Hello team from a very wet Tasmania. We had a really dry winter and beginning of spring but it seems as though it’s remembered how to rain again here. It’s been raining for hours. We have 3 water storage tanks,one of them is enormous and they are now nearly ready to overflow. We quite often get cut off during heavy rain as the river bursts its banks and the road becomes impassable. Hubby had to get to the airport this morning and it’s just as well he left early as he may have been stranded. I always keep a good supply of food and other essentials so it’s not really an issue. If someone is urgently in need of medial help the police boat comes to our assistance.
CG I hope you get some help with your tummy troubles. Gypsy thanks for instructions on photo bucket. I’ll give it a go. Yes I too am very disappointed that Downton Abby is ending. I think season five is the final one.
FD here too. Being cold and wet I think I’m going to find it hard going but will not give way to temptation.
I’m waiting for a break in the weather so I can take a Pepper out for a piddle.
Enjoy the day all and keep up the Aussie determination spirit.

Hi All Doggie forgot to reply to you. Yes finished the Lake House and loved it. Started it again as I find I pick up things I missed 3nd time around. And there was one character/evrnt I didn’t quite get but won’t give the story away! Enjoy!! By the way are you fairky remote in Tassie? Xx
Fit where does all your energy come from? I don’t know where you fit the home renovating etc??!
Noots remind me again where you live?
Aw CG not the tummy still..hope this sorts it for you friend. (( ))
Ah work is calling again. Have a slimming FD all. Sj xx

CG are you kidding??! Of course it counts!!! But you don’t know what they’ll do yet I guess ie somehow dissolve the stone or take it out altogether? Also hope you enjoyed every mouthful of your egg & bacon sandwich and latte and no regrets. And the number on the scales sounds rather exciting even to me! Go girl bust that plateau. 🙂
Noots I had the exact same thoughts re LOL till someone set me straight. Now I always put the stuff into google & see what it says first before I embarrass myself! Like ROFL which is rolling on the floor laughing….but never used that one myself.
And yes same same thoughts re Downtown Abbey. Have you all seen the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel & the 2nd one as well? Loved them too though 2nd not a scratch on the 1st which is pretty common.

Had a very good talk with my psychotherapist friend yesterday & we went through what to say & how to put it to my SIL…and also covered what to say if I need to get up & graciously! walk away if it turns into a dumping session or a blame game. Feeling much more confident about our meeting but not about the outcome – but I’m OK with that too. I will have notes too as I’m not good with conflict generally. Meeting on Saturday. PS you guys here have also been very helpful I’d have to say with your comments so many thanks you awesome bunch!!!

Well that’s about it for now. Must go & have 2/3 glasses of water as been very slack so far today! Not good enough. Have a good FD everyone who’s doing it today. You KNOW you can do it!!! sj xx

Any skerrick lost counts, CG! Not up on what they do for Gaul stones these days, but it was lazer/sonic and keyhole some years back, so hopefully you won’t lose a functioning Gaul bladder. Hit ’em up for quick action. Do you have private health insurance? If not, get on the urgent public list. Before Xmas if you can swing it. (howl with pain, cry, get a screaming ambulance after gutzing on chocolates and cream! Whatever it takes!)you don’t want to get sidelined by the xmas rush. You know they take ages to get under steam after xmas, there’s always a backlog and elective surg gets pushed (so do NOT play stoic!) plus all the newby’s will be learning. You want the veterans at the end of their surgical rotation. Remember, even if you don’t have visible wounds, any invasive abdo surgery takes the obligatory 6 weeks healing time. Apart from being in pain now , you don’t want it strung out til your still on post op guidelines in March. Tho we’ll certainly send an ambo for you if are! (I’ll put red crosses on the side car) . Get well in 2015, mate, and put this year of your overhaul behind you! Keep us posted.

PH, glad you are still on for the Tour. It will be a blast! SJ, how’s the song coming? Fit, could you come if I sent the broomstick, you think? Will do a few ‘OM’s’ to the Universe…..

Noots, ….. but…. whatever do you mean? ‘LOL’ does mean ‘lots of love’. doesn’t it? Pleeeeze tell me it’s not a rude comment! I’ve been using it to send greetings to my grandkids for years! ERK! So what is it?

Dawg, so glad you got rain at last. know what you mean about getting cut off in flood rain. Same here. But only had a couple of rainy days recently.

Happy fasting all who are. I’m off now to continue the cleaning saga. Every year I have to kill the mould spores on every surface or It grows mushrooms! I have vinegar, linseed oil, oil of cloves, and good old Mr Sheen fumes singeing my olfactories! Die, spores!DIE!!!!!! Boy, I’m gunna feel soooo good when it’s done – so effing hard to get down under chairs and tables! Meanwhile, the humidity rises and so do the weeds. It’s possible I may be getting too old for this shit! …grump…..xx gyps

I’ve been fasting for 5 weeks now. I find it is better if I don’t cook on fast days. The smell of cooking food makes me want to break out. LitenEasy have small meals which have around 250 calories. I’ve ordered 10 so I’ve always got something I can just grab without thinking. Lean Cuisine have a decent Chinese dumpling soup at 180cals.
I find it best to use things which are calorie counted eg. tins of tuna, baked beans, eggs rather than get too involved. I haven’t counted anything on my non fast days so maybe could have done better. Maybe not so much wine and cake do you think.???